Method and apparatus for directing wireless resources in a communication network

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, accessing first information for a first wireless access device associated with a first wireless access network in first communication with a portable communication device and accessing second information for a second wireless access device associated with a second wireless access network. A determination is made according to the first information and the second information, to facilitate second communication between the portable communication device and the second wireless access network via the second wireless access device. A first portion of a first geographic area associated with the second wireless access device is covered via a directional capability responsive to a determination to facilitate the second communication between the portable communication device and the second wireless access network. The directional capability facilitates the second communication between the portable communication device and the second wireless access device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/109,299 filed Aug. 22, 2018 which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/652,117, filed Jul. 17, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,085,199. The contents of each of the foregoing are herebyincorporated by reference into this application as if set forth hereinin full.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for directingwireless resources in a communication network

BACKGROUND

There is an expanding ecosystem off devices people use to accessapplications and information, or interact with others, and monitor orcontrol processes. This ecosystem goes well beyond desktop, laptop, andtablet computers to encompass the full range of endpoints with whichhumans might interact. Devices are increasingly connected to back-endsystems through various networks, but often operate in isolation fromone another. As technology evolves, we should expect connection modelsto expand, flow into one another and greater cooperative interactionbetween devices to emerge. Cooperative interactions between devices canprovide applications across business, industry, law enforcement,military, health, and consumer markets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts illustrative embodiments of an exemplary communicationnetwork for providing services to communication devices;

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method used in portionsof the systems described in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3-4 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services that can be used by the communication network ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal forinteracting with the communication systems of FIGS. 1 and 3-4;

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for facilitating services in a wireless communicationnetwork. The wireless communication system can include network elementsand/or architecture compatible with Fourth Generation (4G) and/or FifthGeneration (5G) networks. The 5G network can utilize Software DefinedNetwork (SDN) elements for controlling and fulfilling the objectives ofthe 5G network. Embodiments in the disclosure utilizing a 5G network arenon-limiting and thereby can apply to any communication system thatenables features such as separation of control plane and user plane forcarrying signaling traffic and data traffic, respectively, and networkslicing. Embodiments in the disclosure utilizing the term SDN arenon-limiting and thereby can apply to any software-defined system thatenables virtualization of functional aspects of a system.

A 5G network can include a hybrid system for wireless connection. Forexample, the 5G network can in 5G and 4G Radio Access Networks (RAN).The 4G RAN can provide broad coverage of a geographic area, such thatwireless communication devices can typically use the 4G RAN as a defaultmeans to connect to the communication network. The 5G RAN can have amore limited coverage capability and/or capacity, such that wirelesscommunication devices only access via the 5G RAN when these devices areusing specific high bandwidth applications (e.g., video streaming) thattake advantage of the higher speed capabilities of 5G RAN networkelements and architectures. In order to provide broad geographiccoverage while limiting investment, the 5G RAN elements may includedirectionally adjustable antennas, such that the 5G RAN resources can beselectively targeted to geographic locations, as needed, to servicespecific wireless communication devices.

A Management Gateway (MGW) device can oversee a process to allocate the5G RAN resources to wireless communication devices to access the 5Gnetwork. The MGW device can access information describing coverageareas, capabilities, capacities, and loadings of the 4G RAN and the 5GRAN resources. The MGW device can determine 4G RAN and 5G RAN resourcesthat are in near proximity and how connections to wireless communicationdevices can be shifted between, for example, a 4G RAN access point and a5G RAN access point, or vis versa. The MGW device can access informationdescribing network requirements (e.g., bandwidth, speed, and loading)associated with applications and services that are requested by wirelesscommunication devices that have connected to the 5G network via the 4GRAN or 5G RAN access points. The MGW device can use theapplication/service requirements information to determine whether aparticular wireless communication device should be serviced by the 4GRAN or the 5G RAN. The MGW device can facilitate switching between the4G RAN and the 5G RAN, as needed. If, for example, a 5G RAN is toprovide access point connectivity for a wireless communication device,the MGW device can receive information describing the location of thewireless communication device. The MGW device can use the locationinformation to direct the 5G RAN to target its guide its antenna towarda geographic area of the communication device for transmission andreception of communications. In this way, a relatively reduced set of 5GRAN resources can be used to provide high speed services to wirelesscommunication devices over an area that is nominally serviced by alarger number of fixed coverage 4G RAN resources.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a machine-readablestorage medium, including executable instructions that, when executed bya processing system including a processor, facilitate performance ofoperations, including accessing first information associated with afirst wireless access device associated with a network. The firstinformation can describe a first geographic area that is covered by thefirst wireless access device. The operations can also include accessingsecond information associated with a second wireless access deviceassociated with the network, wherein the second information describes adirectional capability of the second wireless access device forselectively covering a plurality of geographic areas. The operations canalso include determining, according to the first information and thesecond information, to facilitate communication between a first wirelesscommunication device in the first geographic area and the network viathe second wireless access device. Responsive to determination tofacilitate the communication between the first wireless communicationdevice in the first geographic area and the network via the secondwireless access device, the operations can include directing the secondwireless access device to cover a first portion of the first geographicarea associated with the first wireless communication device. The secondwireless access device can be directed according to the directionalcapability of the second wireless access device. The operations can alsoinclude directing the second wireless access device to facilitate thecommunication between the first wireless communication device and thenetwork, and, in turn, directing the first wireless access device tostop facilitating second communication between the first wirelesscommunication device and the network. The first wireless access devicecan facilitate the second communication between the first wirelesscommunication device and the network according to a default policy.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a managementgateway device, comprising a processing system including a processor anda memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by theprocessing system, facilitate performance of operations, includingaccessing first information associated with a first wireless accessdevice associated with a network and describing a first geographic areathat is covered by the first wireless access device. The operations caninclude accessing second information associated with a second wirelessaccess device associated with the network and describing a directionalcapability of the second wireless access device for selectively coveringa plurality of geographic areas. The operations can further includedetermining, according to the first information and the secondinformation, to facilitate communication between a first wirelesscommunication device in the first geographic area and the network viathe second wireless access device. Responsive to determination tofacilitate the communication between the first wireless communicationdevice in the first geographic area and the network via the secondwireless access device, the operations can include directing, accordingto the directional capability of the second wireless access device, thesecond wireless access device to cover a first portion of the firstgeographic area associated with the first wireless communication device,and directing the second wireless access device to facilitate thecommunication between the first wireless communication device and thenetwork.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a method includingdetermining, by a processing system including a processor, according tofirst information associated with a first wireless access device andsecond information associated with a second wireless access device, tofacilitate communication between a first wireless communication devicein a first geographic area and a network via the second wireless accessdevice. Responsive to determination to facilitate the communicationbetween the first wireless communication device in the first geographicarea and the network via the second wireless access device, the methodcan include directing, by the processing system, according to adirectional capability of the second wireless access device, the secondwireless access device to cover a first portion of the first geographicarea associated with the first wireless communication device. The methodcan also include directing, by the processing system, the secondwireless access device to facilitate the communication between the firstwireless communication device and the network.

In a communication network, communication services are typicallyprovided by vendor equipment, which is custom made and/or configuredduring installation to provide functions necessary for providing desiredservices. When changes are made to the network, service instantiationand management can require substantial labor to accommodate and/orincorporate new equipment, which may result delayed serviceinstantiation and a system that demonstrates poor dynamic response tochanges in network demand. In addition, network flows are generallycontrolled by a control plane that is associated with the vendorequipment. However, the control plane is often integrated with the dataor user plane such that changes to a network element may requirere-definition or reconfiguration of a service.

Operation support systems (“OSS”) can currently be used to create and/orconfigure services. However, the process for determining system needsand instantiating equipment can be slow (non-dynamic) and laborintensive, where the service is defined and specified, configured for achosen vendor network element, coded into a software architecture, andtested.

Some communication network providers are turning to Software DesignNetwork (SDN) solutions to improve network flexibility and changedynamics. For example, network providers may use a SDN controller forprovisioning resource and capacity for a mobility core network. However,in these configurations, the core network is a fixed asset within thecommunication network. SDN controller provisioning can alter performanceor control plane assignment of mobility core network components but doesnot create a fully distributed and dynamically responsive system nor asystem that can predict and provide capacity and resource requirements.

Referring now to FIG. 1, depicting illustrative embodiments of anexemplary communication system 100 for providing access to a FifthGeneration (5G) Network 110 by leveraging 4G Radio Access Network (RAN)117A and 5G RAN 117B resources. The 5G Network 110 can provide servicesto various types of communication devices 116, display and televisiondevices 108, home and business networks, Internet of Things (IoT)devices 114, video and audio devices 112, and so forth. Referring alsoto FIG. 2, illustrative embodiments are depicted of a method used inportions of the systems described in FIG. 1.

In one or more embodiments, a communications system 100 can include a 5Gnetwork 110. The 5G network 110 may optionally include a SoftwareDefined Network (SDN), or SDN Network 150. The SDN Network 150 can becontrolled by one or more SDN Controllers 142 m 135, 140, 145. Forexample, the SDN network 150 can include a Manager SDN Controller 142,an Access SDN Controller 135, a Core SDN Controller 140, and/or aTransport SDN Controller 145. The functions of the different types ofSDN Controllers 135-145 are further described below. Each SDNController, such as, for example and ease of illustration, the ManagerSDN Controller 142, can be provided by a computing system executingcomputer-executable instructions and/or modules to provide variousfunctions. In one or more embodiments, multiple computer systems orprocessors can provide the functionality illustrated and describedherein with respect to each SDN Controller 142. To simplify thedescription of the concepts and technologies described herein, each SDNController 142 is illustrated and described herein as being provided bya single computing system. However, it should be understood that thisexample is illustrative and therefore should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

In one or more embodiments, the 5G network 110 can include DefaultNetwork Slices 161. The Default Network Slices 161 can include sets ofVirtual Network Functions (VNF) that provide connectivity betweencommunication devices 116 and the 5G network 110. In one embodiment, theManager SDN Controller 142 can direct generation and/or instantiation ofthe Default Network Slices 161 in the 5G network 110. In one or moreembodiments, the Default Network Slices 161 can include one or more ofthe following functions: Management Gateway Function (MGW) 130, SessionAnchoring Function (SAF), Session Selection Function 156, and/or SDNOpenflow Agent (SOA). In one or more embodiments, once control layertraffic from communication devices 116 enters the core network, initialconnections will be directed to the Default (or Proxy) Network Slices161. The Default Network Slices 161 can coordinate providing informationto the Manager SDN Controller 142 such that the Manager SDN Controller142 can discover pertinent Application-Specific Network Slices 162A-Bthat have been previously instantiated in the 5G network 110 forproviding services to communication devices 116. The Manager SDNController 142 can select from among these Application-Specific NetworkSlices 162A-B for hosting a requested service and can make thisselection based on criteria, such as geographic location and/or Qualityof Service (QoS) of the services being rendered.

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can capture traffic entering the5G network 110 from various communication devices 116, 108, 112, and 114that enters the network via both 4G RAN 117A and 5G RAN 117B. In one ormore embodiments, the communication devices can be, without limitation,Smartphone devices, Wearable devices, Smart Home devices, Entertainmentdevices, Tablets, IoT Consumers devices, or IoT Enterprise devices. TheMGW 130 can establish initial connectivity with a connected, wirelesscommunication device 116. Communication traffic from the communicationdevice 116 can anchor in the MGW 130. The MGW 130 can communicate withthe SDN Network 150, such as a Manager SDN Controller 142, regardingtraffic entering the 5G network 110. In one embodiment, the MGW 130 andthe Manager SDN Controller 142 can communicate via an OpenFlow protocol.The MGW 130 can inform the Management SDN Controller 142 of informationregarding services sought by one or more communication devices. TheManagement SDN Controller 142 can analyze these services to determineservice functions and/or network data flows that would be required tofacilitate delivery of these services to the communication devices 116.

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can instantiate a connection ofthe wireless communication device 116 with the connecting RAN, eitherthe 4G RAN 117A or the 5G RAN 117B. The communication system 100 can bestructured such that it uses a network of 4G RAN 117A to create acellular network of broad and inclusive coverage for all geographicareas. In one embodiment, the network of 4G RAN 117A can be “fixed” inlocation and in coverage area. In one embodiment, the network of 4G RAN117A can serve as default access points for the wireless communicationdevices 116 to attach to the 5G network 110. For example, a wirelesscommunication device 116 can connect to a 4G RAN 117A to establishcommunications with the 5G network 110. From this connection, thewireless communication device 116 can access services via the 5G network110. However, the services that are accessed via the 4G RAN 117A may bein certain ways limited by the capability, capacity, and/or loadingextant at the 4G RAN 117A. For example, the 4G RAN 117A will have amaximum network speed and/or bandwidth for delivery of data. Thiscapability can change as loading conditions (e.g., number of devices,voice and data intensity) change at the 4G RAN 117.

In one or more embodiments, the communication system 100 can include 5GRAN 117B that function is cooperation with the 4G RAN 117A to providewireless connectivity to the 5G Network 110. In one embodiment, the 5GRAN 117B can provide different capabilities than the 4G RAN 117A. Forexample, the 5G RAN 117B can be capable of ultra high speed networkingthat is particularly useful for ultra high definition, video streamingapplications. The communication system 100 can provide 5G RAN 117B as asupplement to the 4G RAN 117A. The 4G RAN 117 can provide broad coverageas the default connection for most wireless communication devices 116and most network applications. However, the 5G RAN 117B can providesupplementary capability for enhancing services, speed, and Quality ofService (QoS). The 5G RAN 117B can also allow the communication system100 to offload high data intensity services and/or devices from the 4GRAN 117A to the 5G RAN 117B. The communication system 100 can moveconnections from the 4G RAN 117A to the 5G RAN 117B, or from the 5G RAN117B to the 4G RAN 117A, based on various characteristics ofcommunication devices 116 connected to the 5G Network 110, the 4G RAN117A and 5G RAN 117B resources, and user service agreements (SA). Thecommunication system 100 can prioritize use of limited 5G RAN 117Bresources to achieve better overall system performance, usersatisfaction, and revenue.

In one or more embodiments, the 5G RAN 117B can include directionalantenna capability. The 5G RAN 117B can selectively control thedirection of one or more antennas for transmitting and/or receivingsignals. In this embodiment, the coverage area of the 5G RAN 117B can benon-fixed and flexible. This capability can be used to target thislimited resource to one or more geographic areas, where the 5G RAN 117Bhigh speed capabilities can be optimally used to provide premiumservices for selected wireless communication devices 116. In oneembodiment, a geographic region may include several 4G RAN 117A accesspoints, where each of these 4G RAN 117A access points supports a fixedgeographic area of the overall region. The combination of this networkof 4G RAN 117A access points can provide seamless coverage over theentire region and provide the default connectivity for wirelesscommunication devices operating in the region. In addition, one or more5G RAN 117B access points can also be located within the region. The 5GRAN 117B access points, alone, may be too few in number to provide thedefault or broad based coverage over the region. However, the additionof the 5G RAN 117B to the generalized network of 4G RAN 117A can providea hybrid network that enhances services on a premium or case-by-casebasis. Further, by implementing the 5G RAN 117B using directionalantenna capability, a relative few number of 5G RAN 117B access pointscan be leveraged to cover a region that includes significantly more 4GRAN 117A access points.

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can instantiate a connectionwith the 4G RAN 117A and the 5G RAN 117B. The MGW 130 can accessinformation from the 4G RAN 117A and the 5G RAN 117B that describescapabilities, capacity, loading, and/or geographic coverage. Forexample, the MGW 130 can access information detailing that a given 4GRAN 117A is operating at location X with a geographic coverage area of atwo mile radius surrounding location X, a maximum network speed of Y, amaximum loading of Z, and a current loading of Z′. The MGW 130 canaccess similar information to develop a detailed operational picture ofthe 4G RAN 117A default network for the geographic region. The MGW 130can also access the operational information for one or more 5G RAN 117Boperating in this same geographic region, where the operatinginformation can also include location, maximum network speed, maximumloading, and current loading. The 5G RAN 117B information can includeconfiguration capabilities that describe the potential coverage areasthat can be supported by the 5G RAN 117B in various configurations. Forexample, the 5G RAN 117B may also be configurable to anomni-directional, two-mile radius or may be configurable to cover atargeted, directional geographic area that is farther away from thislocation (perhaps five miles).

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can instantiate intelligentdirectional antenna slicing at each 5G RAN 117B access point or cellsite. The MGW 130 can manage slicing of the available capabilities(bandwidth, throughput, capacity) of the 5G RAN 117B access points. Theresulting slicing of the 5G RAN 117B capabilities creates a set ofcorresponding slices of 5G RAN 117B coverage within the geographicregion that is otherwise serviced by the 4G RAN 117A default accesspoints. In one embodiment, the slicing of the 5G RAN 117B capabilitiescan be managed on an ad-hoc basis. For example, the MGW 130 can respondto requests for service from wireless communication devices 116, and usethese requests (and corresponding service requirements, user priorities,extant loadings, etc.,) to dictate how the 5G RAN 117B resource issliced based on a “user-based pull” of resources from the 5G RAN 117B.In one embodiment, the MGW 130 can manage the slicing of 5G RAN 117Bcapabilities according to a built-in policy or set of policies. The 5GRAN 117B capabilities can be offered based on a 5G Network“provider-based push” of resources into the geographic area. Forexample, the MGW 130 can offer the 5G RAN 117B high speed capabilitiesat specific locations of the geographic region according to a scheduleor according to service agreements that are tied to locations (e.g.,businesses or homes paying a premium for ability to offer 5G RAN).

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can store a map of 4G RAN 117Aresources that are available in the “neighborhood” of each 5G RAN 117Bcell. This “neighborhood map” can include a list of 4G RAN 117A in thesurrounding area. The neighborhood map information can include not onlylocation information but also capabilities, capacities, loadings, and/ormaintenance that is occurring or that is planned. The neighborhood mapinformation can include information for both the 4G RAN 117A and for the5G RAN 117B. In one embodiment, the neighborhood map can beself-discovered by each 5G RAN 117B cell. In this case, the 5G RAN 117Bcan “test its surroundings” by communicating with the 4G RAN 117A cellsites that surround it and that are accessible to it via wirelesscommunications. The MGW 130 can request and receive the neighborhoodinformation from the 5G RAN 117B, or the 5G RAN 117B can report itsneighborhood information to the MGW 130 on a periodic basis.

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 can dynamically reassign acommunication device 116 from a 4G RAN 117A cell to a 5G RAN 117B cell,or from a 5G RAN 117B cell to a 4G RAN 117A cell. The dynamicreassignment can be based on any, or any combination of, characteristicsof the 4G RAN 117A, the 5G RAN 117B, and communication devices 116connected to these access points. The MGW 130 can dynamically reassigndevices based on local up-to-date traffic conditions at each 4G RAN 117Aand 5G RAN 117B cell.

In one or more embodiments, a 4G RAN 117A cell can broadcast a requestfor help to a 5G RAN 117B cell when local traffic conditions exceed theavailable capacity at the 4G RAN 117A. In one or more embodiments, the5G RAN 117B can analyze service the request, in situ, and can direct itsdirectional antenna toward a geographical area and/or location that the4G RAN 117A has indicated a need for assistance (e.g., a request forultra high speed delivery).

In one or more embodiments, the MGM 130 can receive one or more requestsfrom wireless communication devices 116 for services. The MGW 130 cananalyze one or more service requests to identify which services requirecapabilities or capacities that are available at the 5G RAN 117B. Forexample, the MGW 130 can determine which wireless communication devices116 have requested services requiring ultra high speed delivery. The MGW130 can further process and sort the requests by determining userservice agreements of the communication devices 116. The MGW 130 can usethe requirements and service agreement analysis to determine how toprioritize the available 5G RAN 117B resources. In one or moreembodiments, the MGW 130 can trigger the 5G RAN 117B directional antennato perform ultra-high speed delivery for selective service requests fromselective wireless communication devices 116. Meanwhile, the MGW 130 candirect that service requests for all other wireless communicationdevices 116 continue to be serviced on the 4G RAN 117A, where they willreceive nominal (e.g., medium/low speed delivery) via the 4G RAN 117Aaccess points.

In one or more embodiments, the 5G Network 110 can include a SessionAnchoring Function (SAF) that can allow an initial connection of thecommunication device 116 to anchor control plane communication trafficin the default Network Slice 161. In one embodiment, the SAF can ensuresession continuity over the communication session in light of subsequentchanges in user plane communication routing by hair pinning of thecontrol plane connectivity. In one embodiment, the SAF can enable slicechaining of the connectivity. In a slice chaining event, the defaultNetwork Slice 161 can process the user plane communication trafficassociated with the communication device 116 prior to routing this userplane communication traffic between the communication device 116 and asecond Network Slice 162A-B. Slice chaining can be made conditional onthe complexity of a service that is requested by a communication device116. For example, the default Network Slice 161 may be capable offacilitating providing one service to the communication device 116 butnot capable of providing a second, more complex service. In such a case,the 5G network 110 may enlist a second Network Slice 162A to provide themore complex service. In one scenario, all communications with thecommunication device 116 may transfer to the second Network Slice 162A,which will become the anchor for the further control and user planetraffic for the device 116. In another scenario, the Network Slice 161can remain the anchor for control plane traffic, while all user planetraffic is processed at the Second Network Slice 162A. In yet anotherscenario, the Network Slice 161 can retain control plane processing anda portion of the user plane processing, while sharing a portion of theuser plane processing with the Second Network Slice 162A. Where theNetwork Slice 161 retains a portion to the user plane processing, theNetwork Slice 161 and the second Network Slice 161A (or additionalNetwork Slices 162A-B) can form a slice chain for providing the serviceto the communication device 116. By enlisting secondary Network Slices162A-B that have been previously instantiated in the 5G network 110, thecommunication device 116 can be provided with premium functionalities,such as improved QoS and premium connectivity. In one example, a user ofa communication device 116 may have a subscriber's license agreementthat provides for access to these premium-level services, and the 5Gnetwork 110 can use secondary Network Slice selection and/or chaining toachieve these higher levels of service (and charge additional fees inthe process).

In one or more embodiments, the 5G Network 110 can include a SessionSelection Function (SSF) 156 that can enable the default Network Slice161 to intercept the communication traffic from the communication device116. The SSF 156 can determine characteristics of the communicationdevice 116, the access network 117, the connectivity to the 5G network110, and/or one or more services that are requested by the communicationdevice 116. For example, the SSF 156 can determine Policy capabilities,Security capabilities, Billing function capabilities, and/or QoScapabilities of the communication device 116, the access network 117Aand 117B, the connectivity to the 5G network 110, and/or one or moreservices that are requested.

In one or more embodiments, the 5G Network 110 can include a SDNOpenflow Agent (SOA) that can communicate with the MGW 130 and/or theManager SDN Controller 142. In one embodiment, the SOA can transmitinformation to the Manager SDN Controller 142 regarding thecharacteristics of the communication device 116, the access network 117,the connectivity to the 5G network 110, and/or one or more services thatare requested by the communication device 116. For example, thesecharacteristics can be sent to the Manager SDN Controller 142 along witha request for a service, which the communication device 116 wants toaccess. The Manager SDN Controller 142 can use these characteristics todetermine, not only which service the user communication device 116wants to run, but also the characteristics and capabilities that need tobe present for the selected service to work optimally at the device 116.

In one or more embodiments, once the Manager SDN Controller 142 selectsa particular Network Slice 162A from the available Network Slices 162A-Balready instantiated in the 5G network 110, then Manager SDN Controller142 can direct the default Network Slice 161 to redirect traffic fromthe Network Slice 161 to the selected Network Slice 162A. In oneembodiment, the SOA can function as a SDN switch in order to dynamicallyredirect the user plane communication traffic of the communicationdevice 116 into the selected Network Slice 162 according to the ManagerSDN Controller 142 command.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network can control, direct,configure, and monitor default Network Slices 161 and secondary NetworkSlices 162A-B. The secondary Network Slices 162A-B can include CoreResources 174A-176B for the Core Network of the 5G network 110, such asGateways (GW) for Control Plane (CP) 174A-C, User Plane (UP) 176A-B,and/or Legacy (i.e., combined user and control plane).

In one or more embodiments, the communication system 100 can include aService Layer 125. The Service Layer 125 can provide access tothird-party services and applications at a higher application layer. TheService Layer 125 may include capability servers, owned by the operatorof the 5G network 110 that can access and provide access to applicationlayer servers owned by third-party content providers via open and secureApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs). The Service Layer 125 canalso provide an interface to a Core Network. The 5G network 110 can alsoinclude access to Applications, such as Fixed Applications and MobileApplications.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 canfacilitate a controlling mechanism for a Service Provider (SP). The SPcan provide communications services to subscribing devices 116. Forexample, the SP can provide wireless communication connectivity,telecommunication services, and access to various kinds of data andmedia services to communication devices 116 via the 5G network 110. Inone or more embodiments, the SP can be a physical provider of servicesor a virtual provider of services or a combination of both physical andvirtual. A virtual SP can purchase services from another SP (which canbe a wholesale SP) so that customers of the virtual SP can accesstelecommunication and/or Internet services via one or more Points ofPresence (PoPs) that are owned and operated by the wholesale SP.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can accessand/or direct network components that span various networkarchitectures, levels, and/or locations. The Manager SDN Controller 142can directly or indirectly control or coordinate activities at the cloudor network levels typically associated with the provider domain. TheManager SDN Controller 142 can directly or indirectly control orcoordinate activities within customer domains, such as at the devicelevel, the premises or business level, and/or the vehicle level.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 and the sub-resourcesunder the SDN Network 150, such as the Manager SDN Controller 142 and/orother SDN Controllers 135-145 can be resources that are controlledand/or directed by the SP for use in fulfilling the system requirementsof the 5G network 110. These SDN Network resources may be available tothe SP via any number of arrangements, including ownership, leasing,purchasing, and/or sharing. In some embodiments, the SP may own all ofthese resources. In other embodiments, the SP may only some but not all.In other embodiments, the SP may not own any of these resources.Similarly, certain other parts of the 5G network 110, such as the MGW142, the Mobile Applications 162A-B and/or Fixed Applications, the CoreResources 174A-176B, and/or the Radio Access Networks (RAN) 117A and117B may be controlled and/or directed by the SP, via the MGW 130, foruse in fulfilling the system requirements of the 5G network 110. These5G Network resources may be available to the SP via any number ofarrangements, including ownership, leasing, purchasing, and/or sharing.

In one or more embodiments, each SDN Controller 135-145 can includevarious components and/or can be provided via cooperation of variousnetwork devices or components. For example, each SDN Controller 142 caninclude or have access various network components or resources, such asa network resource controller, network resource autonomous controller, aservice resource controller, a service control interpreter, adapters,application programming interfaces, compilers, a network data collectionand/or analytics engine. Each SDN Controller 142 also can include oraccess information describing available resources and networkinformation, such as network object statistics, events or alarms,topology, state changes. In one or more embodiment, each SDN Controller142 can use and/or can generate and/or access system configurations,including configurations of resources available to the Manager SDNController 142 for proving access to services.

In one or more embodiments, the communication network 100 can include anSDN Network 150. The SDN Network 150 can include one or more SDNControllers 142, 135, 140 and 145 that can provide different types offunctions and can be arranged in virtual layers. For example, the SDNNetwork 150 can include a Manager SDN Controller 142 that controls andcoordinates functioning of the SDN Network 150. The Manager SDNController 142 can be a top-level Management System in the architecture.Below the Manager SDN Controller 142, a next level of SDN Controllers135, 140 and 145 can be instantiated and configured by the Manager SDNController 142 to provide specific classes of functionality in thearchitecture. For example, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can providelevel 3 functionality to control and coordinate service control,configuration, and data flow in the communication network 100. TheManager SDN Controller 142 can, as needed, instantiate, configure, anddirect level 2 SDN Controllers 135, 140 and 145 for controlling Access,Core, and Transport capabilities in the communication network 100.

Referring specifically to FIG. 2, in one or more embodiments, in step204 of method 200, the Management Gateway (MGW) 130 can access firstinformation for a first radio access network (RAN) providing networkaccess for wireless communication device by default. The first RAN canbe a 4G RAN that serves as a default RAN for a 5G Network. The firstinformation can be the subject of a request from the MGW 130 or arequest from a second RAN, such as a 5G RAN. For example, a 5G RAN thatserves as a premium speed RAN for the 5G network, can collectinformation from neighboring 4G RAN cells. In step 208, the MGW 130 canaccess second information from a second RAN. For example, the 5G RANcell can provide information to the MGW 130 for the 5G RAN and/or the 4GRAN. The RAN cell information can include capability, capacity, loading,and other information that can be used by the MGW 130 for determininghow best to allocate the 5G RAN cell capacity.

In one or more embodiments, in step 212, the MGW 130 can determinewhether to provide network access for a wireless communication devicevia the second RAN based on the first and second information. Forexample, a wireless communication device can be connected to a 4G RANcell by default. The MGW 130 can analyze the first and secondinformation describing the capabilities, capacities, and/or loadings ofthe 4G RAN and the 5G RAN, as well as information regarding a requestedservice and/or user service agreement for the wireless communicationdevice. The MGW 130 can determine whether to leave the wirelesscommunication device with the 4G RAN cell or to move the device to the5G RAN cell. If the MGW 130 determines to move the device to the 5G RANcell, at step 216, then, at step 220, the MGW 130 can direct the secondRAN to cover a portion of a geographic region, where the wirelesscommunication device is located. For example, the MGW 130 can direct the5G RAN to command a directional antenna resource to focus coverage at alocation associated with the wireless communication device.

In step 224, the MGW 130 can direct the second RAN to provide networkaccess for the wireless communication device and, in turn, can directthe first RAN to stop providing network access for the wirelesscommunication device. For example, the MGW 130 can direct the 5G RAN toinitiate network service to the 5G Network and the 4G RAN to stopnetwork service to the 5G Network.

While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the respectiveprocesses are shown and described as a series of blocks in FIG. 2, it isto be understood and appreciated that the claimed subject matter is notlimited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur indifferent orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from what isdepicted and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks maybe required to implement the methods described herein.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can allow thecommunication network 100 to separate control plane operations from adata plane operations and can enable layer abstraction for separatingservice and network functions or elements from physical networkfunctions or elements. In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDNController 142 can coordinated networking and provision of applicationsand/or services. The Manager SDN Controller 142 can manage transportfunctions for various layers within the communication network and accessto application functions for layers above the communication network. TheManager SDN Controller 142 can provide a platform for network services,network control of service instantiation and management, as well as aprogrammable environment for resource and traffic management. TheManager SDN Controller 142 also can permit a combination of real timedata from the service and network elements with real-time or nearreal-time control of a forwarding plane. In various embodiments, theManager SDN Controller 142 can enable flow set up in real-time, networkprogrammability, extensibility, standard interfaces, and/or multi-vendorsupport. In one embodiment, interactions between layers of thecommunication network 100 can be based upon policies to determineoptimum configuration and rapid adaptation of the network 100 tochanging state and changing customer requirements for example, predicteddemand, addition of new users, spikes in traffic, planned and unplannednetwork outages, adding new services, and/or maintenance.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can support legacy andemerging protocols through the use of adapters, including, but notnecessarily limited to, configurator or adapters that can write to thenetwork elements, and listening adapters that can collect statistics andalarms for the data collection and analytic engine as well as for faultand performance management. Modularity of the Manager SDN Controller 142can allow the enable functions, such as compiling, service control,network control, and data collection and analytics, to be optimized anddeveloped independently of the specific vendor network equipment beingcontrolled.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can enable separation ofservice control from network resource control. This separation canenable abstraction of service definitions from particular types ofnetwork resources that are selected and used for implementation ofservices. For example, a service can be defined by the Manager SDNController 142 independently of actual network layer and vendorspecifics. Access service features can be separated from flow servicefeatures and can thereby connect to different types of flow servicesquickly. In one embodiment, customers can access services over aconnection that can be added, removed, evolved, combined, or otherwisemodified and that may no longer be tied to the service. In one or moreembodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can creation of a set ofsaved configurations, templates, and/or building blocks for creating andproviding a service. A customer can pick an access path (e.g., DSL,Broadband, Private Line, IP, VPN, etc.) that is independent of a servicethat has been selected. In one embodiment, this approach can provideseveral benefits such as, for example, more rapid instantiation ofnetwork elements and addition of new services, matching networkfeatures, performance, and capabilities to customer needs on-demand, andallocation of network resources for an individual customer whilemaintaining network and operational efficiencies.

In one or more embodiments, each SDN Controller 135-145 can instantiatea virtualized environment including compute, storage, and data centernetworking for virtual applications. For example, the Manager SDNController 142 can direct on-demand instantiation of network elements,such as Virtual Network Function (VNF) elements at on-demand locationsto support network services for a customer or for the autonomous networkresource controller where capacity is needed or where backup of networkelements due to failures. Service functions can be moved and/or changedin response to traffic flow rather than traffic flow moving to thedesired service functions.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can cooperatewith a cloud orchestrator in instantiating level 2 SDN Controllers135-145 and network services to support the network configuration inconnecting Virtual Machined (VMs) that the cloud orchestrator is settingup. The network instantiation and configuration can includeconfiguration of the virtual networks, which may operate at variousphysical levels in a cloud server architecture, including hypervisor,top of rack, cloud network fabric, and/or IP provider edge, which canconnect the cloud network with the service provider WAN network. In oneor more embodiments, the level 2 SDN Controllers 135-145 can cooperatewith a cloud orchestrator in instantiating VNF elements for use in, forexample, the Core Network.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controllers 142-145 can beconfigured to access information describing models of services that canbe provided to communication devices. Formal data models and/ortemplates can be inputs into the network resource controller, which cancompile and create the actual steps necessary to configure the vendorspecific network elements. The formal information data or models canenable separation of service definitions from vendor specificimplementations. In one or more embodiments, for example, the ManagerSDN Controller 142 can use service and networking templates stored at oraccessible to the Manager SDN Controller 142 and assemble a service fromthe templates. The Manager SDN Controller 142 can also translateinformation data and/or models describing services into programmablelogic modules, where a programmable logic language can be used to defineservice and network templates. These templates can be matched to thedesired service features, the matched templates can be assembled by theManager SDN Controller 142. The template-based service representationcan be compiled by the software defined network controller, and thecompiled template-based service representation can be validated usingemulated field test environments to validate the service. Aftervalidation, the service can be ready for instantiation on the networkand the Manager SDN Controller 142 can interact with network elements todeploy the service and/or can issue commands to effect the deployment.

In one or more embodiments, a communication device 116 can operate incommunication with and/or as a part of a communications network 100. Thefunctionality of the communication device 116 may be provided by one ormore server computers, desktop computers, mobile telephones,smartphones, laptop computers, set-top boxes, other computing systems,and the like. It should be understood that the functionality of thecommunication device 116 can be provided by a single device, by twosimilar devices, and/or by two or more dissimilar devices. For purposesof describing the concepts and technologies disclosed herein, thecommunication device 116 is described herein as a workstation orpersonal computer. It should be understood that this embodiment isillustrative, and should not be construed as being limiting in any way.

The communication device 116 can execute an operating system and one ormore application programs. The operating system can be a computerprogram that controls the operation of the communication device 116. Theapplication programs can be executable programs that are configured toexecute on top of the operating system to provide various functions.According to various embodiments, the application programs can includeweb browsers, productivity software, messaging applications,combinations thereof, or the like. In one or more embodiments, theapplication programs of the communication device 116 can includeapplications that enable interactions between the communication device116 and other devices or entities. In some contemplated embodiments, theapplication programs can provide functionality for interacting withand/or communicating with the communication network 100 and, in turn,having communications analyzed by the Manager SDN Controller 142 or,alternatively, any of the SDN Controllers 135-145 in the SDN Network150.

According to various embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can include and/oraccess resources, such as a service orchestrator, a software definednetwork controller, a cloud orchestrator 116, and/or other elements. Itshould be understood that the Manager SDN Controller 142, and any of theabove-described components, or combinations thereof, may be embodied asor in stand-alone devices or components thereof operating as part of orin communication with the communication network 100. As such, theillustrated embodiment should be understood as being illustrative ofonly some contemplated embodiments and should not be construed as beinglimiting in any way.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can enable a shortenedservice conception-to-deployment timeline, as well as enabling improvedservice management functionality. In particular, the Manager SDNController 142 can receive or obtain the service request from thecommunication device 116 or from any other requesting source. Accordingto various embodiments, the service request can be received as a requestto order. In one embodiment, the service request can be in the form of aprogramming language file, which can be written in various languagesand/or can include various types of models or the like. In somecontemplated embodiments, the service request is provided by one or moreYang files, one or more XML files, one or more hypertext markup language(“HTML”) files, one or more scripts and/or programming language files,files in other languages or formats, combinations thereof, or the like.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can automaticallyevaluate application service requirements that have been requested fromthe 5G network 110. In one embodiment, a service request can be receivedfrom a customer or customer device. For example, a request can bereceive via a portal. The service request can be provided to the softManager SDN Controller 142 for service creation, instantiation, andmanagement. According to various embodiments, the service request can beanalyzed by the Manager SDN Controller 142. In one embodiment, theManager SDN Controller 142 can access or query the Service Layer 125 todetermine service requirements needed for fulfilling the servicerequest.

In one or more embodiments, a service request can be received by acustomer (e.g., via the portal), and provided to the SDN Network 150 forservice creation, instantiation, and management. The service request caninclude application objects and/or requests for particular services orfunctions. Thus, the service request can include objects that defineservice functions that are desired, requests for generation of servicesand/or requests for particular functionality, queries, combinationsthereof, or the like. It should be understood that these examples areillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way. According to various embodiments, the service request can beanalyzed by the software defined network controller and a set composedof a directed graph and the associated model or model files areselected. The model can define features of the service and can generatein a programming language or format such as XML, Yang models, othertypes of files, combinations thereof, or the like. The selected directedgraph can be used at runtime to fill in the event-specific details fromthe application programming interface (“API”), the resource allocationsper the directed graph and the resource model, and one or more statechanges in the network through the adapters.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can include,expose, and/or communicate with a portal 120. The functionality of theportal 120 can be provided, in various embodiments, by an applicationhosted and/or executed by a computing device such as a server computer,a web server, a personal computer, or the like. In some otherembodiments, the functionality of the portal can be provided by a moduleor application hosted or executed by one or more computing devices.Thus, it can be appreciated that the functionality of the portal can beprovided by a hardware or software module executed by one or moredevices that provide the software defined network framework and/or byother devices. Because the portal can be provided in additional and/oralternative ways, it should be understood that these examples areillustrative and therefore should not be construed as being limiting inany way.

In one or more embodiments, the communication device 116 can communicatewith the communication network 100 via a wireless communication link.For example, the communication device 116 can be a mobile communicationdevice 116 that communications via a cellular communication link througha Radio Access Network (RAN) technology. A mobility network 117A, 117B,such as an LTE network, a 4G RAN 117A, or a 5G RAN 117B can establishwireless communications with the communication device 116, where thecommunication device 116 can move from cell to cell while maintaining acommunication session. In another example, the communication device 116can communication with the communication network via a WiFi networklink. The WiFi network can be, for example, a local area network (LAN)that is supported by a router capable of wireless communications or canbe an individual device, such another mobile communication device 116capable of acting as an intermediary (e.g., a Hot Spot). In one or moreembodiments, the communication network 100 can be a converged networkcapable of supporting a wide range of access, core and transportnetworks, such as wireline, wireless, satellite, 3GGP, non-3GPP, and/or5G.

In one or more embodiments, the communication device 116 can establish asession with a portal. The portal can be a function of an applicationthat is resident at the communication device 116 as a stand-aloneapplication or as a client application to a server application of the 5Gnetwork 110 or a third party. The portal functionality enables thecommunication device 116 to define or request particular servicefeatures either directly or indirectly. According to variousembodiments, the communication device 116 can provide to the portal, orcan define via the portal, a service request. In one or moreembodiments, the service request can include service feature data thatrepresents service features desired or needed in a service being createdand/or instantiated via the Manager SDN Controller 142. Alternatively,the service request can be a bare request for access to a service. Inthis case, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determine the nature ofthe service and the functionality/resources required for providing theservice.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can query theService Layer 125 to determine the functional and/or resourcerequirements to provide the service to the communication device 116. Inone or more embodiments, the service requirements can include servicefeature data. In one or more embodiments, this service feature data canbe generated by or provided to the Service Layer 125 and/or the ManagerSDN Controller 142 via interactions between the communication device 116and the portal. For example, in the process of making the servicerequest, the communication device 116 can make a series of selectionsfrom menus, drop-down lists, fields, tables, or other data or objectselection mechanisms that may be provided by the portal and/or theapplication programs executing on the communication device 116. In someembodiments, the application programs can include a web browserapplication or other application that can obtain data from the portal.In one or more embodiments, the application programs can use the data togenerate and present a user interface at the communication device 116.The user interface can include possible service features, and a user orother entity can select the desired features, drag and drop desiredfeatures, and/or otherwise indicate desired features in a service.

In one or more embodiments, regardless of the specific technique forcapturing and/or deriving service features, using interactions betweenthe communication device 116 and the portal, and the service featuredata can represent feature choices or definitions made. In oneembodiment, the portal can be configured to obtain the service featuredata and to generate and/or output the service data as a programmingfile or in a programming file format. In one embodiment, the portal canbe supported or directed by the Manager SDN Controller 142. It should beunderstood that these examples are illustrative and therefore should notbe construed as being limiting in any way.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can analyze the servicedata or information and identify service features indicated by and/orassociated with the requested service. Based upon the service requestand/or service data, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can identify one ormore service features associated with a service. As used herein, a“service feature” can be used to refer to an operation, a set ofoperations, a process, a method, a combination thereof, or the likeassociated with a service. Thus, for example, if the service providesthe ability to check an email service for new messages, the featureidentified by the Manager SDN Controller 142 can correspond to checkingfor new email messages. It therefore can be appreciated that anyfunction, functionality, set or subset of functions or functionality,processes or set of processes, method flows, work flows, combinationsthereof, or the like can correspond to a service feature. As such, theabove example should be understood as being illustrative of one examplefeature and therefore should not be construed as being limiting in anyway.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can analyzethe service request and/or other implementation of the service data toidentify each of one or more features associated with the requestedservice. The identification of service features can be iterated by theManager SDN Controller 142 until each feature is identified. Upondetermining that additional features associated with the service do notremain, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can generate and select a servicemodel, template, and/or program that represents the requested service.In one embodiment, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can receive a servicemodel.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can analyzepolicies or policy defined for a service. This policy can includenetwork engineering rules, which can be defined by a network designer,engineer, business unit, operations personnel, or the like, or asubscriber policy, which can be defined during ordering of the service.Subscriber policies can include, for example, service level agreements(“SLAs”), location restrictions (e.g., locations at which the servicesare allowed or not allowed), bandwidth ranges, time restrictions (e.g.,times of day, days of week, or other times at which the service isallowed or not allowed), security restrictions or policies, combinationsthereof, or the like.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determinefrom the service model one or more physical network functions or otherresources that will be needed or used to support the service. TheManager SDN Controller 142 also can analyze the service model toidentify one or more virtual network functions or other functions thatwill support or provide the features of the service. The Manager SDNController 142 also can determine, via analysis of the service model,process flows between the various resources and/or functions used tosupport or provide the service features.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can selectservice and networking templates stored at or accessible to the ManagerSDN Controller 142. Features requested in the service request can bematched to the templates, and the Manager SDN Controller 142 canassemble a service from the templates. In one embodiment, the ManagerSDN Controller 142 can compile the assembled templates and with a realtime network map, create a directed graph that can configure the networkelements based on a specific sequence defined by the directed graph.Upon successful validation, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can interactwith network elements such as a service orchestrator and a cloudorchestrator to instantiate resources to perform functions, includingcomputing, storage, and local networking in a virtual environment, andto instantiate the service. In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDNController 142 can configure physical and virtual network functions anda cloud orchestrator can instantiate the virtual network functions(e.g., virtual machines (“VMs”)). After virtual network functioninstantiation, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can configure, monitor,and manage the service. In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDNController 142 can receive or get events from the network and trigger adirected graph to execute the logic of the intended service, feature, orflow.

In one or more embodiments, if the SDN Network 142 implements a multiplelevel, dynamic design, then the Manager SDN Controller 142 of the SDNNetwork 150 can automatically prioritize and instantiate a next lowerlevel (e.g., level 2) SDN controller including an Access Network SDNController 135, a Core Network SDN Controller 140, and/or a TransportNetwork SDN Controller 145 on the fly. Generally, the Manager SDNController 142 can instantiating at least one set of these level 2 SDNControllers 135-145 to provide baseline functionality and connectivityfor a least one communication device 116. As server requests areprocessed, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can evaluate the servicerequest requirements (i.e., the service features) and compare therequired resources and capacities for these resources with the resourcesand capacities currently available at the SDN network 150 via the level2 SDN Controllers 135-145. In one embodiment, the Manager SDN Controller142 can communicate with each of the instantiated SDN controllers via acommunication interface, such as an OpenFlow interface. In addition, theSDN Controllers 135-145 of level 2 to can communicate among themselvesto determine resource capabilities, capacities, shortages, failures,and/or warnings. In one or more embodiments, if the Manager SDNController 142 determines that the requested service can be performed,within system margins, using the currently instantiated SDN Controllers135-145, then the Manager SDN Controller 142 can decide to direct theSDN Controllers 135-145 to perform the service for the communicationdevice 116. Alternatively, if the Manager SDN Controller 142 determinesa shortage or shortfall in a needed resource, then the Manager SDNController 142 can direct instantiation of one or more new SDNController 135-145 to perform all or part of the requested service. Forexample, the Manager SDN Controller 142 may determine that the servicerequest associated with the communication device 116 or manycommunication devices 116 or merely received at the 5G network 110 froman indeterminate device (e.g., a request for resources from anothernetwork) requires additional Core SDN Controller capacity 140. In thiscase, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can direct the instantiation ofadditional Core SDN Controller 140 capacity from a set of configurableSDN Controller devices at the cloud.

In one or more embodiments, level 2 SDN Controllers 135-145, includingAccess SDN Controller 135, Core SDN Controller 140, and Transport SDNController 145 can control devices at level 1 of the communicationnetwork 100. For example, the Access SDN Controller 135 can control,direct, configure, and monitor Access Resources 117 and 119 for thenetwork 100, such as eNodeB controllers, RAN controllers, and or WiFicontrollers. In another example, the Core SDN Controller 140 cancontrol, direct, configure, and monitor Core Resources 174A-176B for theCore Network of the communication network 100, such as Gateways (GW) forControl Plane (CP) 174A-C, User Plane (UP) 176A-C, and/or Legacy (i.e.,combined user and control plane). In another example, the Transport SDNController can control, direct, configure, and monitor Transport Layerservices, such as a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, FiberOptics network, and/or a Backbone network.

In one or more embodiments, the level 3 Manager SDN Controller 142 canmanage one or more sets of level 2 SDN Controllers 135-145 in the SDNNetwork 150. The Manager SDN Controller 142 can configure and/orreconfigure the instantiated SDN Controllers 135-145 to optimize the SDNNetwork 150 according to loading created by the service requests. Forexample, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can automatically instantiatemultiple levels of fully distributed SDN Controllers 135-145. Likewisethe level 2 SDN Controllers 135-145 can instantiate and/or configureand/or reconfigure VNF elements 174A-176B at level 1. Each of the SDNControllers 135-145 can support instantiation “on the fly” based on newrequests, the ending of old requests, monitoring network traffic, and/orrequesting loading information from any of the other SDN Controllers135-145 and/or the VNF elements 174A-176B. For example, the Manager SDNController 142 can instantiate and/or decommission SDN Controllers135-145 into and out from the SDN Network 150 on an on-going basisaccording to the exchange-to-exchange (E2E) application servicerequirements. Similarly, the SDN Controllers 135-145 can instantiatedand/or decommission and/or reconfigure VNF elements 174A-176B. Forexample, in a streaming media application, such as a Netflix™ VideoDelivery application, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determine thatnetwork demands for the Access SDN Controller 135 and Transport SDNController 145 may be relatively large for a given set of communicationdevices 116, while the Core SDN Controller 140 demands for thesecommunication devices 116 may be relatively normal. The Manager SDNController 142 can look at the available resources and capacities forthe currently instantiated SDN Controllers 135-145 that are supportthese communication devices 116. If the demands of the media streamingapplication exceed the available resources, then the Manager SDNController 142 can automatically address the issue by, for example,instantiating additional Access SDN Controller 135 and Transport SDNController 145 resources.

In one or more embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 may determinethat sufficient resources exist at the currently instantiated Access SDNController 135 and Transport SDN Controller 145 resources, however, thepriorities of these resources need to be adjusted. For example, where aheavy streaming media loading is identified, the Access SDN Controller135 and Transport SDN Controller 145 resources may be given higherpriority in comparison to the Core SDN Controller 140. Conversely, if aheavy loading of Voice over IP (VoIP) services is identified, then theManager SDN Controller 142 can automatically place the Core Network SDNController 140 into higher priority in comparison to Access Network SDNController 135 and Transport Network SDN Controller 145.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controller 135-145 can decide how touse network resources to fulfill the data needs. For example, theManager SDN Controller 142 can communicate, directly, with the SDNControllers 135-145 on level 2 (e.g., via Open Flow) and indirectly withthe Network Function Virtualization resources on the level 1. In one ormore embodiments, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can access servicelevel information associated with the communication devices 116. TheManager SDN Controller 142 can determine if the communication device 116is associated with a premium service level, for example, and caninstantiate additional resources and/or adjust priority levels ofcurrently instantiated resources to provide requested services accordingto Quality of Service (QoS) levels associated with the service level.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controllers 135-145 can accesshistorical information or prospective information to predict resourcesthat may be needed at a time in the future. For example, the Manager SDNController 142 can access historical resource demand informationassociated with the network 100 and/or a particular part of the network.For example, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determine that thedemand for streaming media resources is likely to be very high on aparticular day of the week, because historical data indicates that thisday is a popular day of the week for streaming data. In another example,the Manager SDN Controller 142 can make this type of predictivedetermination for a particular communication device 116 or set ofdevices based on historical data. In another example, the Manager SDNController 142 can access a database with information on triggers thatcorrespond to increased or decreased levels of usage (above or belowmean usage). For example, the database may include information on arelease of a several season of a popular program for access viastreaming media. The data may further indicate a high probability formassive streaming of data associated with this program beginning at acertain time. By analyzing and responding to these indicators ofout-of-typical usage, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can instantiateadditional resources or, if warranted, decommission resources (orreassign to other uses).

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controllers 135-145 can storemodels, templates, programs, and/or configurations associated withproviding services to communication devices via the communicationnetwork 100. For example, if a communication device 116 includes HighDefinition camera devices, and if the user off the communication device116 decides to upload data from the High Definition camera function to,for example, a cloud-based storage location accessible via thecommunication network, then the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determinethe needed resources and priority settings. Based on the setup, andoptionally, on analysis of the performance of the system during theupload of the data, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determine thatthe entire setup should be saved for later use.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controllers 135-145 can receive realtime feedback from network resources during operation. For example, theManager SDN Controller 142 can receive information from the SDNControllers 135-145 of the level 2. Alternatively, the Manager SDNController 142 can receive information, indirectly, from the level 1resources and VNF devices. The Manager SDN Controller 142 can use thefeedback information to determine the status of the resources that havebeen assigned by the Manager SDN Controller 142 to provide services. TheManager SDN Controller 142 can determine, for example, that insufficientresources have been instantiated and/or prioritized for a task or forone or more communication devices 116. The Manager SDN Controller 142can then direct the instantiation of additional SDN Controllers 135-145and/or alteration in configuration and/or priority of SDN Controllers135-145. Conversely, the Manager SDN Controller 142 can determine thattoo many resources have been dedicated and decide to either decommissionand/or reassign the resources to thereby provide on-the-fly and dynamicresponse.

In one or more embodiments, each of the Level 2 SDN Controllers 135-145can instantiate required VNF elements, on-the-fly, in order to fulfillE2E service delivery. In one or more embodiments, rather than leveraginga single level SDN Controller, many SDN Controllers 142 and 135-145 canbe used to achieve multiple levels of SDN control and management.

In one or more embodiments, the MGW 130 and/or the SDN Network 150 canrespond to a request for a service from a communication device 116 bycoordinating and/or implementing a process for the communication device116 to access the service. In various embodiments, any of the SDNControllers 135-145 can be responsible for the process. However, forsimplicity of illustration, a non-limiting embodiment featuring a CoreSDN Controller 140 is described below. In one or more embodiments, theCore SDN Controller 140 can determining if the communication device 116is authenticated to the network 100 and/or authorized to receive therequested service. For example, the Core SDN Controller 140 can receiveand process a request for service by querying an authentication server.For example, the Core SDN Controller 140 can query a Home SubscriptionServer (HSS) for authentication of the subscription status of thecommunication device 116. The Core SDN Controller 140 can furtherdetermine if the communication device 116 is authorized for accessing arequested service, such as streaming of video content, by accessing auser profile associated with the communication device 116. For example,the Core SDN Controller 140 can determine if the communication device116 is participating in a data access plan and, if so, the terms of thedata access plan. The Core SDN Controller 140 can access information atequipment of the Service Layer 135 and/or specific Mobile Applications162A-B and/or Fixed Applications to determine if the communicationdevice 116 is authorized for a specific service, such as specific videostreaming service. In one example, the Core SDN Controller 140 canverify if a client-server relationship between the communication device116 and an application service.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can access userpreference information for the communication device 116. In oneembodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can fetch and look up a profileof one or more users of the communication device 116. The profile caninclude information on how the user and/or a subscriber to systemservices desires to manage data resources. For example, a networkprovider or system operator can sell access to services of the 5Gnetwork 110 to various types of subscribers. In one embodiment, acustomer agreement can specify resources and services that are availableand how the subscriber is charged for use of those resources. Thecustomer agreement may specify certain limitations on access or usage ofresources, such as, limits on reception of data from the network 100. Ina typical arrangement, the subscriber may pay a monthly fee thatcorresponds to a monthly allotment of data. If the subscriber uses morethan the allotted data, then the subscriber may incur additional feesbeyond the normal monthly fee. In another typical arrangement, thecommunication device 116 may be linked to not only a subscriber but agroup of subscribers and communication devices 116 operating under afamily or enterprise customer agreement. In this scenario, the group ofcommunication devices 116 may be operating under a set of grouplimitations on services, including an aggregated data limit, where everycommunication device 116 may share in using all of the availableresources that have purchased for the group, but where all devices inthe group reaches a plan limitation at the same time (e.g., a datalimit).

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can retrieveinformation regarding prior instances of a subscriber or a subscriptiongroup (e.g., a family) responding to instances of approaching orexceeding data/resource limitations. For example, during a prior month,the subscriber may have exceeded a prearranged data limitation for thesubscription service. At that time, the communication device 116 of thesubscriber may have been notified by the Core SDN Controller 140 of apotential overage in data usage and may have contacted the system 100,via a portal, to request additional data resources for the monthlyservice period. The network 100 can track these types of instances,including those where the subscriber paid for more data, up front, inanticipation of an overage, paid for additional data at the time ofnotification of an impending overage, chose to disable data usage at thetime the notification of an impending overage, and the like.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can access thishistorical information and can apply an artificial intelligence approachto deduce subscriber preferences for handling these types of scenariosbased on the past occurrences. The Core SDN Controller 140 can alsorequest from the subscriber in-advance instructions for handlingsituations of overage or near overage. For example, the Core SDNController 140 can present to the subscriber, via a portal, a set ofscenarios and request for the user to decide, in advance, how best tohandle these scenarios in keeping with their preferences. For example,the subscriber may direct that the Core SDN Controller 140 can directthe system to purchase a certain amount of additional data upon thesystem sending a notification of impending overage if certain othercriteria are met. These criteria can include, for example, proximity tothe end of the monthly billing/usage cycle, the type of service that isdominant in the generation of data usage (e.g., Is it video streaming oremail access?), which communication device 116 is dominant in thegeneration of the data usage (e.g., a parent's device or a child'sdevice). The Core SDN Controller 140 can analyze these past situationsand any forward-looking directives that have been provided by thesubscriber to derive one or more experience-based directives forhandling overages and near-overages. In one embodiment, the Core SDNController 140 can review these experienced-based directives with thesubscriber for approval in advance of need and/or at the time or anoverage or near-overage.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can accessdirectives from the profile, whether determined by the subscriber orexperienced-based directives as described above. In one embodiment, thedirectives can specify that the subscriber be notified of an overage ora near-overage. In an overage, the account that is associated with thesubscriber and the communication device 116 is already beyond a limit asspelled out in the customer agreement. In a near-overage, the accounthas reached a threshold, or trigger, that is below the level anout-and-out overage but is near enough to cause a concern that theoverage limit will be exceeded. For example, the subscriber account mayhave a data limit of 20 GB, but a trigger or threshold of 90%, such thata warning notification is sent to the subscriber when the accountreaches 90% of the data limit, which is 18 GB in this case. In oneembodiment, the profile can direct that the system handle the overageand/or near-overage differently for different communication devices 116associated with a group account. For example, when an account withmultiple communication devices 116 reaches a near-overage, the systemcould be directed to alter data access for some devices while continuingnormal data access for other devices. For example, the system 100 can bedirected to slow down or shut down data download to a firstcommunication device 116 that is assigned to a child in a family whilemaintaining data flow to a second communication device 116 that isassigned to a parent. In this way, the system 100 can impose a datareduction onto a child's device to conserve data resources in the groupplan while not directly impacting data services to a parent's device.

In one embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can be instructed by theprofile to propose a solution to the subscriber via a message to thecommunication device 116. For example, the message can propose simplyraising the data plan limit. In another example, the Core SDN Controller140 can propose altering the service level that is being provided to thecommunication device. Dynamic control of data service can be used as ameans to extend the resources for which the subscriber has paid. Forexample, the customer agreement may call for delivery of a certainamount of data that is nominally delivered with a certain quality ofservice (QoS) level. This QoS level could be in the form data rates thatcan support high definition (HD) video or can be sufficient to supportstandard definition (SD) video or can only support low qualitydefinition sufficient for Internet browsing but not video streaming. TheCore SDN Controller 140 can offer the subscriber a means for trading offspeed/QoS and data. For example, a user limit of 20 GB might presume HDvideo capability for the entire 20 GB. However, the same customeragreement might allow for a higher data limit of 30 GB if delivered atSD video capability. Similarly, a lower QoS level might be used tofurther extend the data limit. In one or more embodiments, thepreference profile may specify a mix of QoS levels that is presumed forthe agreed upon data limit along with one or more alternative QoSlevel—data limit mixes that can be used by the system to bias datadelivery toward different types of services/applications within theavailable data limit.

In one or more embodiments, when the Core SDN Controller 140 determinesthat the user is at the near-overage, the Core SDN Controller 140 canreformulate the data delivery QoS as directed by the profile. Forexample, the profile can begin a billing cycle by directing the Core SDNController 140 to deliver data using best available paths and datacoding to achieve a QoS level for supporting HD video streaming. Whenthe near-overage limit is hit, the profile can direct the Core SDNController 140 to deliver data via a slower path and/or data coding tothrottle back or slow the data delivery. In one embodiment, altering ofthe QoS level can differ from communication device 116 to communicationdevice 116 as specified by the profile. In one embodiment, the Core SDNController 140 can adjust the QoS level to throttle back or to evensuspend data delivery to communication devices 116 as directed by theprofile. In one embodiment, modification of the QoS level can slow downthe data access by the communication device 116 to preserve theremaining data below the data limit. In one embodiment, the Core SDNController 140 can modify the QoS level to reduce the cost of the datathat is being delivered (i.e., slower data is less expensive to deliver)while providing a no cost or low cost means for extending the availabledata limit.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can includeresource requirements for providing the service to the communicationdevice 116 in the determination of how to handle the usage of thoseresources. The Core SDN Controller 140 may determine that the servicethat has been requested is not particularly data intensive. In suchcase, the fact that the subscriber is at a near-overage level may not beas critical as it would be if the subscriber was accessing a veryintensive service. In one embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can bedirected by the preference profile and/or can apply an additional adjustto the handling of over and/or near-overage based on the anticipatedrequirements/loading for the requested service. In one embodiment, theCore SDN Controller 140 can rank the data requirements for the requestedservice according to a scale of data intensiveness. The profile can, inturn, include alternative directives for different levels of dataintensiveness.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can communicatewith the communication device 116, or any other device associated withthe subscriber account, regarding the current data/resource usage. Inone embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can send a notification tothe subscriber with information regarding a near-overage or anactual-overage. The notification can include one or more proposedactions for dealing with the issue. For example, the notification canoffer to extend the data limit for the subscriber account via anaddition fee. In another example, the notification can offer to extendthe data limit while reducing the QoS level for delivery of additionaldata. In another example, the notification can offer to slow down datadelivery such that the subscriber account is less likely to exceed thedata limit. In another example, the notification can offer to increasethe QoS level or to other increase the network resources that areavailable to the communication device 116 for delivery of the serviceand to include an additional fee for this upgrade. In one embodiment,the notification can combine these options to provide the subscriberwith a rich set of alternatives for dealing with the data deliveryscenario. These options can be applied, across the board, to all of thedevices in a group of devices associated with the subscriber or can beapplied on a per device basis, with the optional changes (and billings)applied to the devices on a per device basis.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can determineits actual course of action based on a response from the subscriber. Inone embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can maintain the currentservice level and trajectory if no response is received from thesubscriber. In one embodiment, the profile can include a default actionfor the Core SDN Controller 140 in a case, where no response is receivedfrom the subscriber. For example, the Core SDN Controller 140 canautomatically throttle back or suspend data service to a communicationdevice 116 associated with the subscriber when the subscriber accountreaches an overage or a near-overage.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can implementany modification to the network 100, as needed, according to thedirective that is determined from the profile and/or by a combinedaction between the profile and the Core SDN Controller 140. When anoverage or a near-overage is detected, the Core SDN Controller 140 maybe directed to throttle back data delivery to a communication device116. For example, during the delivery of streaming video to acommunication device 116 may the SDN Network 150 may have routed thedata to the communication device 116 via a User Path Gateway 176A in theCore Network. This User Path Gateway 176A may, in fact, be implementedas a Virtual Network Function (VNF) that is instantiated by the Core SDNController 140. In the process of throttling back data delivery to thecommunication device 116, the Core SDN Controller 140 may cause a changein performance in of this VNF element, User Path Gateway 176A. In onecase, the Core SDN Controller 140 can reduce a priority at the VNFelement, User Path Gateway 176A, such as a priority of communicationsassigned to the communication device 116 and/or communications assignedto the streaming service. This change in priority can cause the dataflow to the communication device 116 to be throttled back. In anothercase, the VNF element, User Path Gateway 176A can be made up of manyindividual VNF elements. The Core SDN Controller 140 can decommissionone or more VNF elements of the User Path Gateway 176A. Again, thisapproach can throttle back or even shut off the data flow to thecommunication device 116. In addition, by reducing the priority of VNFelements or decommissioning these VNF elements away from being dedicatedto serving the communication device 116, the Core SDN Controller 140 canfree up these SDN-based resources for other uses. In one embodiment, theCore SDN Controller 140 can instantiate additional VNF elements toincrease speed of service.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can determine achange in billing or charging for service. For example, if thesubscriber decides to increase the data limit in response to an overageor a near-overage, then an additional fee may be generated. Similarly,if the directive results in adding new capacity to the data path, thenthis may generate an additional fee. If the directive results in areduced service level, such as a reduce QoS level, then this may resultin a reduced fee or a comparatively reduced charge for an overage. TheCore SDN Controller 140 communicate this charging decision to the SDNNetwork 150 and to elements within the communication network 100 thatare responsible for generating billing.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can adapt theperformance of the 5G network 110 to maintain customer satisfaction. ACore SDN Controller 140 can, as needed instantiate new resources,decommission existing resources, and/or change priorities of resources.These actions are based, ultimately, upon user decisions regardinghandling of overages or potential overages. These system responses canbe pre-programmed, generated from historical analysis of prior datalimit scenarios, and/or based on direct user input.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 receive anindication that the communication network 100 is experiencing some kindof an issue that can result in reduced ability to deliver the service tothe communication device 116. In one embodiment, the Core SDN Controller140 can use the SDN capability to respond tooutages/failures/bottlenecks in the network. For example, the Core SDNController 140 can receive information from the network (OpenFlow) anddetermine that there is a problem with congestion and/or an outage thatwill result in a communication device 116 receiving service that isbelow a QoS level. In this case, the Core SDN Controller 140 can referto a Policy Server to determine how to respond. The Core SDN Controller140 can reallocate resources to or from the communication device 116depending on circumstances. For example, if a public safety usage ismore important that the service requested by the communication device116, then the public safety use can be given priority over the servicerequested by the communication device 116.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can receive anindication of a level of degradation of service that is beingexperienced by the communication device 116. For example, the Core SDNController 140 can rank degradations of QoS level according to a scale.The Core SDN Controller 140 can then flexibly adjust pricing for theservice that is delivered, under the degraded conditions, based on theranked level of degradation.

In one or more embodiments, the Core SDN Controller 140 can identify aone or more sources for congestion or outage in the 5G network 110. Inone embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 make a modification oradjustment in the performance of the network. In one embodiment, theCore SDN Controller 140 can rank the congestion or outage and can thendetermine how to modify the network 100 based on the severity of theranking. For example, the Core SDN Controller 140 can instantiateadditional resources, such as additional VNF elements 174A-176B, toprovide additional resources to ameliorate the congestion or outage. Inone embodiment, the Core SDN Controller 140 can determine a billing forthe additional resources that are added, if necessary.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can provide networkslicing with distributed VNF elements 174A-176B to support divergedtypes of services and requirements in a 5G network 100. The networkslicing can effectively distribute functionality for facilitatingservices to communication devices 116 across the network. Traditionalcellular architectures use purpose-built boxes to provide mobilitynetwork functions. For example, in a Long Term Evolution (LTE)architecture, S-GW, P-GW, and eNB functions are physically placed intothe network as fixed assets for providing control plane, user plane, andaccess node capabilities. This approach to the architecture is veryexpensive and is found to not scale economically. In one embodiment, aFifth Generation (5G) Network may need to support diverged types ofservices with significantly different requirements. For example,Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications applications requireultra-reliable and low latency communications, as exemplified by therequirements of a connected car performing real-time navigation. Inanother example, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, such as a meterreader, my only require relatively low bandwidth and perform acceptablyunder relaxed latency requirements. In another example, anenterprises-based service may require a subscriber profile informationthat is co-located with an application. For example, an enterprise, suchas a business, may have a dedicated Home Subscriber Server (HSS)functionality that is located within a network that is managed by theenterprise. In this case, an enterprise cloud could, in fact, be aprivate cloud that is managed separately by the enterprise and apartfrom the communication network that is managed by an operator provider.In this case, one or more VNF elements 162A, 174A, 176A can beinstantiated in the enterprise's network.

The range of services, network and application requirements, andcommunication loading represented by divergent devices, such as meterreaders, vehicle control, and smart phone devices, can create overallsystem requirements that are not economically feasible via traditionalmobility network architectures.

In one or more embodiments, a SDN-controlled network, using cloud-basedconcepts, can provide flexible network slicing with distributedfunctionality to support these diverged types of services andrequirements in a 5G network. SDN controllers 142 can provide controland configuration to support different network slices on appropriatenetwork clouds 162A-B by instantiating and controlling a proper sets ofVNF elements 174A-176B and by the optimal distribution of these VNFelements 174A-176B based on application and service requirements.

In one or more embodiments, network slicing can be used by the SDNnetwork to support multiple virtual networks behind the air interface(s)117 of the communication network. The slicing of the network intomultiple virtual networks can provide optimal support for differentRadio Access Networks (RAN) and/or different service types runningacross a single RAN. Further, in one or more embodiments, flexibledistribution of the access, edge, and core elements of the network cloudcan provide optimal support regarding latency and/or service isolationfor different apps and service requirements.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can determine whatservice(s) is being used and which Access Point Node (APN) is being usedfor the specific traffic. In one embodiment, the analysis can beperformed by a SDN controller 135-145, which derive information eitherdirectly from communications entering the network 100 form one or morecommunication devices 116 or from a MGW 130 that is monitoring this typeof traffic. In one or more embodiments, a SDN Controller 142 can performanalysis that determine a detailed granularity of the specific servicesbeing sought by or provided to the communication device 116. Thisdetailed granularity can reveal sets of service functions (e.g.,identifying servers, providing connections to applications, verifyingauthenticity, and/or providing control plane and user plane functions)that are necessary for facilitating the delivery of services. Thedetailed granularity can also include determining various data pathways,within the network 100 and beyond, necessary for facilitating thedelivery of services. The SDN Controller 142 can instantiate VNFelements 174A, 176A that can cause traffic to be sent to respectivedestinations such as 4G, 4G+, or 5G APNs, based upon breaking up thespecific services requested into the types of service functions,resources, data accesses, and/or network data paths. The VNF elementsthat are composed, configured, and chained by the SDN Controller 142 forimplementing the necessary service functions are, in turn, instantiatedinto the 5G network 100 in network locations that take optimize one ormore characteristics of the service functions and/or network data paths.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150, such as the Manager SDNController 142 and/or the Core SDN Controller 140, can dynamicallyidentifying a proper set of service functions needed for each servicethat is provided to the communication devices 116. In one embodiment,the SDN Controller 140 can generate or compose functions and chainingthese functions together for providing the services as functional slicesof the overall communication network 100. The functions can be used bythe SDN Controller 140 to generate VNF elements 174A. These VNF elements174A can then be distributed by the SDN Controller 140 to various partsof the communication network 100. The SDN Controller 140 can facilitatedistribution of VNF elements 174A to proper clouds based on the servicerequirements. In one or more embodiments, these slices of the networkcan be distributed based on reducing latency, minimizing network datapaths, ease of access to local applications 162A-162B, data, and/orservers, and so forth. In one or more embodiments, multiple, distributednetwork slices, such as a first slice 162A, 174A, 176A, and a secondslice 162B, 174B, 176B, can be determined, composed, instantiated,supported, modified, and/or decommissioned by a SDN Controller 140.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can interact with one ormore MGW 130 to identify services that are requested by communicationdevices 116. In addition, the SDN Network 150 can use the MGW 130 todetermine whether a given communication device 116 is targeted to 4G or5G functions, such as separated or combined control/user planes. The SDNController 140 can determined whether a 4G or 5G core should be used forthe core network slice.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Controller 140 can monitor and/orcollect information on network resources during runtime. The networkresource information can include utilization or resources, such as fromRAN, transport, and core resources. The SDN Controller 140 can use thisinformation to determine if the network resource is adequate forproviding the service, is not sufficient, or is excessive (wasteful).The SDN Controller 140 can then dynamically adjusting the resourceallocation for each VNF within each slice. The SDN Controller 140 canmodify performance factors, such as configurations and/or priorities.The SDN Controller 140 can instantiate additional VNF elements and/ordecommission existing elements.

In one or more embodiments, the network slicing can provide distributedfunctionality to support divergent types of services and requirements.By leveraging SDN capabilities, the network 100 can control differenttypes of network slices at different locations by providing proper setsof VNF elements to proper network locations. This approach can improvethe mobility network, today, and provide pathways to improvingscalability, efficiency and end user experience into the future. Theslice of the network can personalized to each enterprise or customer.The modern communication network is very centralized with core, service,and access layers located at central serving offices and hubs. In thesearchitectures, all of the information—services, data, programs,etc.,—moves through access to core to service layers. However, with adecentralized network, the service pathways to the communication devicesare distributed to the “edges” of the network 100—or even into acustomer's building. This decentralization removes much (ultimately)unnecessary network loading while compartmentalizing global risks oflocal network issues.

In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network 150 can enable tailoring ofservices and/or tailoring of access by third parties at the enterprise.In one or more embodiments, the SDN Network can enable a centralizedcontrol plane for initiating and supporting communication sessions,authentication, movement between locations (i.e., handoff), and/orselection of source of data. The SDN Network can, at the same time,enable a decentralized user plane for accessing and delivering userdata. For example, user plane functions can be moved to the enterprise(or nearby). The slicing of the network can be performed by the SDNNetwork on an On-Demand basis. For example, sliced resources can beallocated to one or more communication devices 116 while those devices116 are actively accessing data from the network. However, if thedevices 116 stop using these resources at a later time (or reduceactivity), then the SDN Network can reallocate these sliced resourcesback to network. The SDN Network can determine where in the physicalnetwork it should configure the VNF functions—such as the control planeor the user plane—based on communication needs, configuration, serviceplans, etc. The SDN Network can slice up network resources such that, inone scenario, the Control Plane and the User Plane can be centralized atthe cloud, while, in another scenario, the User Plane can be atdynamically moved to an enterprise.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 300for providing various communication services, such as delivering mediacontent. The communication system 300 can represent an interactive medianetwork, such as an interactive television system (e.g., an InternetProtocol Television (IPTV) media system). Communication system 300 canbe overlaid or operably coupled with system 100 of FIG. 1 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of 5G network 110. For instance, one or moredevices illustrated in the communication system 300 of FIG. 3 for a 5GNetwork that leverages 4G RAN and 5G RAN access points for providingservices to communication devices.

In one or more embodiments, the communication system 300 can include asuper head-end office (SHO) 310 with at least one super headend officeserver (SHS) 311 which receives media content from satellite and/orterrestrial communication systems. In the present context, media contentcan represent, for example, audio content, moving image content such as2D or 3D videos, video games, virtual reality content, still imagecontent, and combinations thereof. The SHS server 311 can forwardpackets associated with the media content to one or more video head-endservers (VHS) 314 via a network of video head-end offices (VHO) 312according to a multicast communication protocol. The VHS 314 candistribute multimedia broadcast content via an access network 318 tocommercial and/or residential buildings 302 housing a gateway 304 (suchas a residential or commercial gateway).

The access network 318 can represent a group of digital subscriber lineaccess multiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a servicearea interface that provide broadband services over fiber optical linksor copper twisted pairs 319 to buildings 302. The gateway 304 can usecommunication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 306 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 308 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 307 (such as aninfrared or RF remote controller).

The gateway 304, the media processors 306, and media devices 308 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, or other presentor next generation local or personal area wireless network technologies.By way of these interfaces, unicast communications can also be invokedbetween the media processors 406 and subsystems of the IPTV media systemfor services such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 329 can be used in the mediasystem of FIG. 3. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 300. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 315 that include mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 331 coupled to thebuilding 302. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver331 can be transferred to the media processors 306 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 308. The media processors 306 can be equipped with a broadbandport to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) network 332 to enableinteractive services such as VoD and EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 333 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system300. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 333 can also provideInternet, telephony, and interactive media services. System 300 enablesvarious types of interactive television and/or services including IPTV,cable and/or satellite. The subject disclosure can apply to otherpresent or next generation over-the-air and/or landline media contentservices system.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 330, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing web portal services over the ISP network 332 towireline media devices 308 or wireless communication devices 316.

Communication system 300 can also provide for all or a portion of thecomputing devices 330 to function as a Management Gateway (MGW) 330. TheMGW 330 can use computing and communication technology to performfunction 362, which can include among other things, the communicationnetwork adaptation techniques described by method 200 of FIG. 2. Forinstance, function 362 of MGW 330 can be similar to the functionsdescribed for MGW 130 of FIG. 1 in accordance with method 200. The mediaprocessors 306 and wireless communication devices 316 can be provisionedwith software functions 364 and 366, respectively, to utilize theservices of MGW 330. For instance, functions 364 and 366 of mediaprocessors 306 and wireless communication devices 316 can be similar tothe functions described for the communication devices 116 of FIG. 1 inaccordance with method 200.

Multiple forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 317 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Global System for Mobile or GSM, Code Division Multiple Accessor CDMA, Time Division Multiple Access or TDMA, Universal MobileTelecommunications or UMTS, World interoperability for Microwave orWiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, Long Term Evolution or LTE, and soon. Other present and next generation wide area wireless access networktechnologies can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 400employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 400 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith system 100 of FIG. 1 and communication system 300 as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 300. The subjectdisclosure describes, among other things, illustrative embodiments for a5G Network that leverages 4G RAN and 5G RAN access points for providingservices to communication devices.

Communication system 400 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)440, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 430, and other networkelements of an IMS network 450. The IMS network 450 can establishcommunications between IMS-compliant communication devices (CDs) 401,402, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 403, 405, andcombinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF)420 coupled to a PSTN network 460. The MGCF 420 need not be used when acommunication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Acommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD may utilize theMGCF 420.

IMS CDs 401, 402 can register with the IMS network 450 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with aninterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF), which in turn, communicates with a ServingCSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with the HSS 440. To initiate acommunication session between CDs, an originating IMS CD 401 can submita Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message to an originatingP-CSCF 404 which communicates with a corresponding originating S-CSCF406. The originating S-CSCF 406 can submit the SIP INVITE message to oneor more application servers (aSs) 417 that can provide a variety ofservices to IMS subscribers.

For example, the application servers 417 can be used to performoriginating call feature treatment functions on the calling party numberreceived by the originating S-CSCF 406 in the SIP INVITE message.Originating treatment functions can include determining whether thecalling party number has international calling services, call IDblocking, calling name blocking, 7-digit dialing, and/or is requestingspecial telephony features (e.g., *72 forward calls, *73 cancel callforwarding, *67 for caller ID blocking, and so on). Based on initialfilter criteria (iFCs) in a subscriber profile associated with a CD, oneor more application servers may be invoked to provide various calloriginating feature services.

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 406 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 430 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITEmessage to a SIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminatingcommunication device is IMS-compliant. The SIP URI can be used by anInterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 407 to submit a query to the HSS 440 toidentify a terminating S-CSCF 414 associated with a terminating IMS CDsuch as reference 402. Once identified, the I-CSCF 407 can submit theSIP INVITE message to the terminating S-CSCF 414. The terminating S-CSCF414 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 416 associated with theterminating CD 402. The P-CSCF 416 may then signal the CD 402 toestablish Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communication services,thereby enabling the calling and called parties to engage in voiceand/or data communications. Based on the iFCs in the subscriber profile,one or more application servers may be invoked to provide various callterminating feature services, such as call forwarding, do not disturb,music tones, simultaneous ringing, sequential ringing, etc.

In some instances the aforementioned communication process issymmetrical. Accordingly, the terms “originating” and “terminating” inFIG. 4 may be interchangeable. It is further noted that communicationsystem 400 can be adapted to support video conferencing. In addition,communication system 400 can be adapted to provide the IMS CDs 401, 402with the multimedia and Internet services of communication system 300 ofFIG. 3.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such as CD403 or CD 405 (in instances where the cellular phone only supportscircuit-switched voice communications), the ENUM system 430 can respondwith an unsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originatingS-CSCF 406 to forward the call to the MGCF 420 via a Breakout GatewayControl Function (BGCF) 419. The MGCF 420 can then initiate the call tothe terminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 460 to enable the callingand called parties to engage in voice and/or data communications.

It is further appreciated that the CDs of FIG. 4 can operate as wirelineor wireless devices. For example, the CDs of FIG. 4 can becommunicatively coupled to a cellular base station 421, a femtocell, aWiFi router, a Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) baseunit, or another suitable wireless access unit to establishcommunications with the IMS network 450 of FIG. 4. The cellular accessbase station 421 can operate according to common wireless accessprotocols such as GSM, CDMA, TDMA, UMTS, WiMax, SDR, LTE, and so on.Other present and next generation wireless network technologies can beused by one or more embodiments of the subject disclosure. Accordingly,multiple wireline and wireless communication technologies can be used bythe CDs of FIG. 4.

Cellular phones supporting LTE can support packet-switched voice andpacket-switched data communications and thus may operate asIMS-compliant mobile devices. In this embodiment, the cellular basestation 421 may communicate directly with the IMS network 450 as shownby the arrow connecting the cellular base station 421 and the P-CSCF416.

Alternative forms of a CSCF can operate in a device, system, component,or other form of centralized or distributed hardware and/or software.Indeed, a respective CSCF may be embodied as a respective CSCF systemhaving one or more computers or servers, either centralized ordistributed, where each computer or server may be configured to performor provide, in whole or in part, any method, step, or functionalitydescribed herein in accordance with a respective CSCF. Likewise, otherfunctions, servers and computers described herein, including but notlimited to, the HSS, the ENUM server, the BGCF, and the MGCF, can beembodied in a respective system having one or more computers or servers,either centralized or distributed, where each computer or server may beconfigured to perform or provide, in whole or in part, any method, step,or functionality described herein in accordance with a respectivefunction, server, or computer.

The MGW 330 of FIG. 3 can be operably coupled to communication system300 for purposes similar to those described above. MGW 330 can performfunction 362 and thereby provide adaptation of the communication system100 for providing services to the CDs 401, 402, 403 and 405 of FIG. 4similar to the functions described for Manager SDN Controller 142 ofFIG. 1 in accordance with method 200 of FIG. 2. CDs 401, 402, 403 and405, which can be adapted with software to perform function 472 toutilize the services of the MGW 330 similar to the functions describedfor communication devices 116 of FIG. 1 in accordance with method 200 ofFIG. 2. MGW 330 can be an integral part of the application server(s) 417performing function 474, which can be substantially similar to function364 and adapted to the operations of the IMS network 550.

For illustration purposes only, the terms S-CSCF, P-CSCF, I-CSCF, and soon, can be server devices, but may be referred to in the subjectdisclosure without the word “server.” It is also understood that anyform of a CSCF server can operate in a device, system, component, orother form of centralized or distributed hardware and software. It isfurther noted that these terms and other terms such as DIAMETER commandsare terms can include features, methodologies, and/or fields that may bedescribed in whole or in part by standards bodies such as 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP). It is further noted that some or allembodiments of the subject disclosure may in whole or in part modify,supplement, or otherwise supersede final or proposed standards publishedand promulgated by 3GPP.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a web portal 502 of acommunication system 500. Communication system 500 can be overlaid oroperably coupled with system 100 of FIG. 1, communication system 300,and/or communication system 400 as another representative embodiment ofsystem 100 of FIG. 1, communication system 300, and/or communicationsystem 400. The web portal 502 can be used for managing services ofsystem 100 of FIG. 1 and communication systems 300-400. A web page ofthe web portal 502 can be accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)with an Internet browser using an Internet-capable communication devicesuch as those described in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3-4. The web portal 502 canbe configured, for example, to access a media processor 306 and servicesmanaged thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a Video onDemand (VoD) catalog, an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG), or apersonal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures, audio recordings,etc.) stored at the media processor 306. The web portal 502 can also beused for provisioning IMS services described earlier, provisioningInternet services, provisioning cellular phone services, and so on.

The web portal 502 can further be utilized to manage and provisionsoftware applications 362-366, and 472-474 to adapt these applicationsas may be desired by subscribers and/or service providers of system 100of FIG. 1, and communication systems 300-400. For instance, users of theservices provided by MGW 130 or 330 can log into their on-line accountsand provision the MGW 130 or 330 with describe a feature that a user maywant to program such as user profiles, provide contact information toserver to enable it to communication with devices described in FIGS. 1and 3-4 and so on. Service providers can log onto an administratoraccount to provision, monitor and/or maintain the system 100 of FIG. 1or MGW 330.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication device 600.Communication device 600 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the devices depicted in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3-4and can be configured to perform portions of method 200 of FIG. 2.

Communication device 600 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 602 (herein transceiver 602), a user interface (UI) 604, apower supply 614, a location receiver 616, a motion sensor 618, anorientation sensor 620, and a controller 606 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 602 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 602 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 604 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 608 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device600. The keypad 608 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 600 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 608 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 604 can further include a display610 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 600. In anembodiment where the display 610 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 608 can be presented by way of the display 610 withnavigation features.

The display 610 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 600 can be adapted to present a user interface withgraphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by a userwith a touch of a finger. The touch screen display 610 can be equippedwith capacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology todetect how much surface area of a user's finger has been placed on aportion of the touch screen display. This sensing information can beused to control the manipulation of the GUI elements or other functionsof the user interface. The display 610 can be an integral part of thehousing assembly of the communication device 600 or an independentdevice communicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface(such as a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 604 can also include an audio system 612 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 612 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 612 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI604 can further include an image sensor 613 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 614 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 600 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable applications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 616 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 600 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 618can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 600 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 620 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device600 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 600 can use the transceiver 602 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 606 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 600.

Other components not shown in FIG. 6 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 600 can include a reset button (not shown). The reset button canbe used to reset the controller 606 of the communication device 600. Inyet another embodiment, the communication device 600 can also include afactory default setting button positioned, for example, below a smallhole in a housing assembly of the communication device 600 to force thecommunication device 600 to re-establish factory settings. In thisembodiment, a user can use a protruding object such as a pen or paperclip tip to reach into the hole and depress the default setting button.The communication device 600 can also include a slot for adding orremoving an identity module such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card. SIM cards can be used for identifying subscriber services,executing programs, storing subscriber data, and so forth.

The communication device 600 as described herein can operate with moreor less of the circuit components shown in FIG. 6. These variantembodiments can be used in one or more embodiments of the subjectdisclosure.

The communication device 600 can be adapted to perform the functions ofdevices of FIG. 1, the media processor 306, the media devices 308, orthe portable communication devices 316 of FIG. 3, as well as the IMS CDs401-402 and PSTN CDs 403-405 of FIG. 4. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 600 can also represent other devices that canoperate in systems of FIG. 1, communication systems 300-400 of FIGS. 3-4such as a gaming console and a media player. In addition, the controller606 can be adapted in various embodiments to perform the functions362-366 and 472-474, respectively.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope of theclaims described below. Other embodiments can be used in the subjectdisclosure.

It should be understood that devices described in the exemplaryembodiments can be in communication with each other via various wirelessand/or wired methodologies. The methodologies can be links that aredescribed as coupled, connected and so forth, which can includeunidirectional and/or bidirectional communication over wireless pathsand/or wired paths that utilize one or more of various protocols ormethodologies, where the coupling and/or connection can be direct (e.g.,no intervening processing device) and/or indirect (e.g., an intermediaryprocessing device such as a router).

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethods described above. One or more instances of the machine canoperate, for example, as the Manager SDN Controller 130, the SDNControllers 135-145, and the communication device 116 in FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the machine may be connected (e.g., using a network 726) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine may operate inthe capacity of a server or a client user machine in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge,or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a communication device of the subject disclosureincludes broadly any electronic device that provides voice, video ordata communication. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, theterm “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machinesthat individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may include a processor (or controller) 702(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a graphics processing unit(GPU, or both), a main memory 704 and a static memory 706, whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 708. The computer system 700 mayfurther include a display unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD), a flat panel, or a solid state display). The computer system 700may include an input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 714 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generationdevice 718 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 720. In distributed environments, the embodiments described inthe subject disclosure can be adapted to utilize multiple display units710 controlled by two or more computer systems 700. In thisconfiguration, presentations described by the subject disclosure may inpart be shown in a first of the display units 710, while the remainingportion is presented in a second of the display units 710.

The disk drive unit 716 may include a tangible computer-readable storagemedium 722 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g.,software 724) embodying any one or more of the methods or functionsdescribed herein, including those methods illustrated above. Theinstructions 724 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 704, the static memory 706, and/or within theprocessor 702 during execution thereof by the computer system 700. Themain memory 704 and the processor 702 also may constitute tangiblecomputer-readable storage media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Application specific integrated circuits andprogrammable logic array can use downloadable instructions for executingstate machines and/or circuit configurations to implement embodiments ofthe subject disclosure. Applications that may include the apparatus andsystems of various embodiments broadly include a variety of electronicand computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions in two ormore specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with relatedcontrol and data signals communicated between and through the modules,or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, theexample system is applicable to software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the subject disclosure, theoperations or methods described herein are intended for operation assoftware programs or instructions running on or executed by a computerprocessor or other computing device, and which may include other formsof instructions manifested as a state machine implemented with logiccomponents in an application specific integrated circuit or fieldprogrammable gate array. Furthermore, software implementations (e.g.,software programs, instructions, etc.) including, but not limited to,distributed processing or component/object distributed processing,parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also beconstructed to implement the methods described herein. Distributedprocessing environments can include multiple processors in a singlemachine, single processors in multiple machines, and/or multipleprocessors in multiple machines. It is further noted that a computingdevice such as a processor, a controller, a state machine or othersuitable device for executing instructions to perform operations ormethods may perform such operations directly or indirectly by way of oneor more intermediate devices directed by the computing device.

While the tangible computer-readable storage medium 722 is shown in anexample embodiment to be a single medium, the term “tangiblecomputer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a singlemedium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shallalso be taken to include any non-transitory medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods ofthe subject disclosure. The term “non-transitory” as in a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage includes without limitation memories, drives,devices and anything tangible but not a signal per se.

The term “tangible computer-readable storage medium” shall accordinglybe taken to include, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such asa memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only(non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable(volatile) memories, a magneto-optical or optical medium such as a diskor tape, or other tangible media which can be used to store information.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa tangible computer-readable storage medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, and/or HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are from time-to-timesuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Wireless standards for device detection (e.g.,RFID), short-range communications (e.g., Bluetooth®, WiFi, Zigbee®), andlong-range communications (e.g., WiMAX, GSM, CDMA, LTE) can be used bycomputer system 700. In one or more embodiments, information regardinguse of services can be generated including services being accessed,media consumption history, user preferences, and so forth. Thisinformation can be obtained by various methods including user input,detecting types of communications (e.g., video content vs. audiocontent), analysis of content streams, and so forth. The generating,obtaining and/or monitoring of this information can be responsive to anauthorization provided by the user. In one or more embodiments, ananalysis of data can be subject to authorization from user(s) associatedwith the data, such as an opt-in, an opt-out, acknowledgementrequirements, notifications, selective authorization based on types ofdata, and so forth.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Theexemplary embodiments can include combinations of features and/or stepsfrom multiple embodiments. Other embodiments may be utilized and derivedtherefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Figuresare also merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certainproportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others may be minimized.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

Less than all of the steps or functions described with respect to theexemplary processes or methods can also be performed in one or more ofthe exemplary embodiments. Further, the use of numerical terms todescribe a device, component, step or function, such as first, second,third, and so forth, is not intended to describe an order or functionunless expressly stated so. The use of the terms first, second, thirdand so forth, is generally to distinguish between devices, components,steps or functions unless expressly stated otherwise. Additionally, oneor more devices or components described with respect to the exemplaryembodiments can facilitate one or more functions, where the facilitating(e.g., facilitating access or facilitating establishing a connection)can include less than every step needed to perform the function or caninclude all of the steps needed to perform the function.

In one or more embodiments, a processor (which can include a controlleror circuit) has been described that performs various functions. Itshould be understood that the processor can be multiple processors,which can include distributed processors or parallel processors in asingle machine or multiple machines. The processor can be used insupporting a virtual processing environment. The virtual processingenvironment may support one or more virtual machines representingcomputers, servers, or other computing devices. In such virtualmachines, components such as microprocessors and storage devices may bevirtualized or logically represented. The processor can include a statemachine, application specific integrated circuit, and/or programmablegate array including a Field PGA. In one or more embodiments, when aprocessor executes instructions to perform “operations”, this caninclude the processor performing the operations directly and/orfacilitating, directing, or cooperating with another device or componentto perform the operations.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: accessing, by a processingsystem including a processor, first information associated with a firstwireless access device associated with a first wireless access networkin communication with a first portable communication device; accessing,by the processing system, second information associated with a secondwireless access device associated with a second wireless access network;determining, by the processing system, according to the firstinformation and the second information, to facilitate communicationbetween the first portable communication device and the second wirelessaccess network; determining, by the processing system, a locationassociated with the first portable communication device; and directing,by the processing system, a directional antenna resource to focuscoverage at a first portion of a geographic area including the locationassociated with the first portable communication device, responsive to adetermination to facilitate the communication between the first portablecommunication device and the second wireless access network.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising directing, by the processingsystem, the first wireless access device to stop facilitating thecommunication between the first wireless access device the firstportable communication device.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thefirst wireless access device facilitates the communication between thefirst portable communication device and the second wireless accessdevice according to a default policy.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe directional antenna resource of the second wireless access deviceincludes an antenna system capable of guiding electromagnetic energy ina selectable direction.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein thedirectional antenna resource of the second wireless access deviceincludes an antenna system capable of receiving electromagnetic energyfrom a selectable direction.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising accessing, by the processing system, network capabilityinformation associated with the second wireless access device, whereinthe determining whether to facilitate, via the second wireless accessdevice, the communication between the first portable communicationdevice and the first wireless access device is further according to thenetwork capability information.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining whether to facilitate, via the second wireless accessdevice, the communication between the first portable communicationdevice and the second wireless access device is further according to apriority of the first portable communication device.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the determining whether to facilitate, via the secondwireless access device, the communication between the first portablecommunication device and the second wireless access device is furtheraccording to a requirement of a service selected by the first portablecommunication device.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingredirecting, by the processing system, the second wireless access deviceto cover a second portion of the geographic area, wherein a secondportable communication device is operating in the second portion of thegeographic area.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first portion ofthe geographic area and the second portion of the geographic area aretwo slices of a fifth generation wireless coverage area that isselectively provided to a plurality of communication devices by thesecond wireless access network.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst information and the second information include communicationloading, network capability, or any combination thereof.
 12. A wirelesscommunication device, comprising: a processing system including aprocessor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations,the operations comprising: accessing first information associated with afirst wireless access device associated with a first wireless accessnetwork in first communication with the wireless communication device;accessing second information associated with a second wireless accessdevice associated with a second wireless access network; determiningaccording to the first information and the second information, tofacilitate second communication between the wireless communicationdevice and the second wireless access network; identifying a positionassociated with the wireless communication device; and orienting adirectional capability to direct wireless coverage at the positionassociated with the wireless communication device, responsive to adetermination to facilitate the second communication between thewireless communication device and the second wireless access network.13. The wireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the firstwireless access device is directed to stop facilitating the firstcommunication with the first wireless access network responsive to thesecond wireless access device facilitating the second communication withthe second wireless access network.
 14. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 12, wherein the directional capability of the secondwireless access device includes an antenna system capable of guidingelectromagnetic energy in a selectable direction.
 15. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 14, wherein the directional capability ofthe second wireless access device includes an antenna system capable ofreceiving electromagnetic energy from a selectable direction.
 16. Thewireless communication device of claim 12, wherein the second wirelessaccess device is directed to facilitate the second communication withthe second wireless access network further based on a priority of thewireless communication device.
 17. The wireless communication device ofclaim 12, wherein the operations further comprises receiving a selectionof a service, wherein the second wireless access device is directed tofacilitate the second communication with the second wireless accessnetwork further based on a requirement of the service selected by thewireless communication device.
 18. The wireless communication device ofclaim 12, wherein the second wireless access device is directed tofacilitate the second communication with the second wireless accessnetwork further based on network capacity information associated withthe first wireless access device.
 19. A non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium operating at a first wireless access device of a firstwireless network, comprising executable instructions that, when executedby a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance ofoperations, the operations comprising: accessing first information for afirst wireless access device associated with a first wireless accessnetwork in first communication with a portable communication device;accessing second information for a second wireless access deviceassociated with a second wireless access network; determining accordingto the first information and the second information, to facilitatesecond communication between the portable communication device and thesecond wireless access network via the second wireless access device;and covering via a directional capability a first portion of a firstgeographic area associated with the second wireless access device,responsive to a determination to facilitate the second communicationbetween the portable communication device and the second wireless accessnetwork, wherein the directional capability facilitates the secondcommunication between the portable communication device and the secondwireless access device.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium of claim 19, wherein the directional capability of the firstwireless access device includes an antenna system capable of guidingelectromagnetic energy in a selectable direction, and wherein thedirectional capability of the first wireless access device includes anantenna system capable of receiving electromagnetic energy from aselectable direction.